README.rst

THE SCALA REPOSITORY

This document describes the Scala core (core library and compiler) repository
and how to build it. For information about Scala as a language, you can visit
the web site http://www.scala-lang.org/

Part I. The repository layout

Follows the file layout of the Scala repository. Files marked with a † are not
part of the repository but are either automatically generated by the
build script or user-created if needed. This is not a complete listing.

Part II. Building Scala with SABBUS

SABBUS is the name of the Ant build script used to compile Scala. It is mostly
automated and takes care of managing the dependencies.

LAYERS:

In order to guarantee the bootstrapping of the Scala compiler, SABBUS builds
Scala in layers. Each layer is a complete compiled Scala compiler and library.
A superior layer is always compiled by the layer just below it. Here is a short
description of the four layers that SABBUS uses, from bottom to top:

starr: the stable reference Scala release which is shared by all the
developers. It is found in the repository as 'lib/scala-compiler.jar' and
'lib/scala-library.jar'. Any committable source code must be compiled directly
by starr to guarantee the bootstrapping of the compiler.

locker: the local reference which is compiled by starr and is the work
compiler in a typical development cycle. When it has been built once, it is
“frozen” in this state. Updating it to fit the current source code must be
explicitly requested (see below).

quick: the layer which is incrementally built when testing changes in the
compiler or library. This is considered an actual new version when locker is
up-to-date in relation to the source code.

strap: a test layer used to check stability of the build.

DEPENDANT CHANGES:

SABBUS compiles, for each layer, the Scala library first and the compiler next.
That means that any changes in the library can immediately be used in the
compiler without an intermediate build. On the other hand, if building the
library requires changes in the compiler, a new locker must be built if
bootstrapping is still possible, or a new starr if it is not.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SABBUS:

The Scala build system is based on Apache Ant. Most required pre-compiled
libraries are part of the repository (in 'lib/'). The following however is
assumed to be installed on the build machine:

Incrementally builds quick, and then uses it to compile and run the file
sandbox/test.scala. This is a typical debug cycle.

ant replacelocker

"unfreezes" locker by updating it to match the current source code.

This will delete quick so as not to mix classes compiled with different
versions of locker.

ant test

Tests that your code is working and fit to be committed.

Runs the test suite and bootstrapping test on quick.

You can run the suite only (skipping strap) with 'ant test.suite'.

ant docs
Generates the HTML documentation for the library from the sources using the
scaladoc tool in quick. Note: on most machines this requires more heap than
is allocate by default. You can adjust the parameters with ANT_OPTS.
Example command line:

ANT_OPTS="-Xms512M -Xmx2048M -Xss1M -XX:MaxPermSize=128M" ant docs

ant dist

Builds a distribution.

Rebuilds locker from scratch (to make sure it bootstraps).

Builds everything twice more and compares bit-to-bit the two builds (to
make sure it is stable).

Runs the test suite (and refuses to build a distribution if it fails).

Creates a local distribution in 'dists/latest'.

ant clean

Removes all temporary build files (locker is preserved).

ant locker.clean

Removes all build files.

ant all.clean

Removes all build files (including locker) and all distributions.

Many of these targets offer a variant which runs with -optimise enabled.
Optimized targets include build-opt, test-opt, dist-opt, fastdist-opt,
replacestarr-opt, replacelocker-opt, and distpack-opt.

Part IV. Contributing to Scala

If you wish to contribute, you can find all of the necessary information on
the official Scala website: www.scala-lang.org.

Specifically, you can subscribe to the Scala mailing lists, read all of the
available documentation, and browse the live github repository. You can contact
the Scala team by sending us a message on one of the mailing lists, or by using
the available contact form.